The entire school embarks on a survival journey, starting from a primeval rainforest.

【Name: Water-repelling Bead】

Type: Jewelry (Beads)

【Function: Water diversion, water control】

[Description: This is a personal treasure lost by an ancient water god while fishing. It contains the pure laws of water. Once activated, it can form an invisible water curtain barrier one meter around the wearer. It can automatically disperse any water, whether it be a river, lake, sea, or a stinking ditch, allowing the holder to walk with the confident stride of a hermit in water.]

[Note 1: The barrier only isolates liquid water and cannot defend against attacks in other forms such as ice and steam.]

[Note 2: Within 24 hours of use, your body will enter "water buffalo mode," with your daily water intake increasing to five times the normal amount. When you're thirsty, you'll want to hug and kiss even a mineral water bottle.]

[Note 3: Friend, you don't want to cosplay as a wobbly, dehydrated zombie, do you?]

Jiang Fan rubbed the beads that had suddenly appeared on his wrist, the cool touch stimulating his sensitive nerves.

It's not a hallucination!

However, when he tried to redeem the white blind box again, he received a message saying that "the current map redemption attempts have been used".

Current map?

Could there be other maps?

Just as Jiang Fan was making his own guesses, Nangong Yue returned and handed him a clean pink towel.

"Quickly wipe yourself dry, don't catch a cold." Her gaze fell on the beaded bracelet on Jiang Fan's wrist, a hint of curiosity flashing across her eyes. "What did you find in the water? Tell everyone about it?"

Upon hearing Nangong Yue's question, the surrounding girls quickly gathered around, their eyes filled with curiosity and eagerness: "Excuse me, I just heard someone shout 'piranha,' is it true?"

"Are we going to be stuck here forever?"

Jiang Fan took the towel and wiped his face. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to tell the whole story.

Now is the time when unity is most needed, and strong external conflicts are more conducive to internal unity.

"...How come there are so many messy things underwater? Where have we ended up?" A girl was on the verge of collapse after listening to Jiang Fan's story, muttering to herself.

Many others looked serious, with thoughtful expressions on their faces.

Jiang Fan clearly noticed that the hidden aversion to boys in their eyes had dissipated considerably.

The previous discussion about whether it was "inconvenient for boys to come up" has completely disappeared.

Just then, a commotion arose at the end of the corridor, and the boys from the second floor surged up one after another.

The corridor became even more chaotic.

"Are there this many people on the third floor too?"

"The water level has stopped rising, but the second floor is completely flooded; it's uninhabitable!"

"All the empty rooms are locked; we need to find a way to open them. We can't just sleep in the hallway, can we?"

During the National Day holiday, many dormitories went on trips or went home together, leaving many empty dormitories. However, all the spare keys were in the dormitory management office on the first floor, and no one dared to go down and get them.

Therefore, how to accommodate the boys coming up from downstairs suddenly became the primary issue.

Several tall boys tried to pick the lock, but without the tools, they only managed to make a few scratches.

Some people tried to use cards to unlock doors like in the short videos, but they couldn't even insert the card into the crack, making it a complete waste of effort.

Some people even tried to forcefully break down the door, but since the building was newly built before the start of the semester, the dormitory door was of very high quality. Several people tried, but not only did the door not break, they also left the people who tried to break down the door breathless.

At first, the girls were just watching the commotion, but they soon discovered that many people had forgotten their keys because they were in such a hurry to leave that several rooms were locked, making the situation even more chaotic.

Just then, Nangong Yue, who had gone upstairs to negotiate, brought back bad news: "The fourth floor is only willing to accept girls, and there aren't enough beds. Even if you go up there, you'll have to sleep in the corridor."

The crowd erupted in uproar, their faces filled with despair.

Sleeping in the hallway?

Without any cover, if a wild beast climbs up at night, we're no different from lambs to the slaughter.

"If only someone could get the key from the first floor..." a girl muttered quietly.

However, he was met with a deathly silence.

The deadly threat underwater deterred everyone from venturing there.

Jiang Fan quietly retreated to the water room and activated the water-repelling bead when no one was paying attention.

With a soft hum, the beads emitted a faint blue light, the water in the washroom receded instantly, and the tiles dried in the blink of an eye.

[System prompt: Barrier radius 1 meter / duration 120 seconds]

[Number of attempts remaining today: 2/3]

[Side effect: Buffalo mode activated; water intake must be 5 times the normal amount within 24 hours]

Jiang Fan was overjoyed; the water-repelling bead's effect was even more incredible than he had imagined.

The distance from the third floor to the dormitory manager's office on the first floor is only twenty or thirty meters, which is more than enough for one round trip.

The side effects appeared the moment the barrier disappeared.

His throat was parched, as if he hadn't drunk water for three days, but there was no drinking water available, so he could only suppress the urge to drink.

Jiang Fan did not step forward immediately. He knew that "scarcity increases value," and that he would maximize his profits by waiting until everyone else had no other choice.

Just when Jiang Fan felt the time was about right, a tall and handsome young man suddenly stood up and said, "My swimming skills are pretty good, I can give it a try."

He raised his chin, his eyes sweeping over the girl with a deliberate show of arrogance.

"Qi Ran is so handsome! I heard he joined the college basketball team right after the semester started. He's so brave!" a girl exclaimed, swooning.

Qi Ran heard the girls' whispers and a slight smile appeared on his lips; he was secretly pleased with himself.

"Isn't he afraid of piranhas? Didn't someone just get bitten to death on the first floor?" someone remarked.

"Yeah, there are electric eels in the water, that's really brave."

Upon hearing this, Qi Ran's expression suddenly froze.

Piranhas? Electric eels?

Isn't this just a normal flood?

Why hasn't anyone told me these things?

For a moment, he was caught in a dilemma.

"Um, the water's a bit murky. Does anyone have swimming goggles? I can't open my eyes underwater and can't tell which way to go..."

Qi Ran was too embarrassed to admit that she was scared, so she could only make up an excuse.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. This was something only swimmers had, and the school didn't have a swimming pool.

Seeing that no one responded, Qi Ran was secretly pleased and very satisfied with his quick thinking.

They gained attention while avoiding risks.

Just then, a boy wearing glasses pushed through the crowd: "I have swimming goggles, a swimsuit, and a swim cap. I just bought them because I was planning to go cave diving with my friends during the National Day holiday. When I saw the water rising, I put them in my bag immediately. I didn't expect them to come in so handy."

Qi Ran stared silently at the small bag the boy handed her. After a few seconds of silence, she slowly forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Thanks, bro."

Upon reaching the second-floor stairwell, the murky water shimmered with an eerie green light. Qi Ran swallowed hard, hesitant to enter the water, and instead began warming up.

"Look, this is what you call professional. If you go into the water without warming up, you're likely to get cramps, which is dangerous." The boy handing over the swimming goggles was named Li Wanneng, and he proudly explained to his friend.

If Qi Ran can retrieve the key, he will also deserve credit.

"Does anyone have a rope? It's a bit dangerous to go into the water without a safety rope..." Qi Ran, who was doing warm-up exercises, racked his brains and finally found a perfect excuse.

This thing is hard to find in the dorm.

But no sooner had he finished speaking than Li Wanneng handed him another bundle of rope: "Professionals are just different. How could I have forgotten about this? Cave diving definitely requires a safety rope, but unfortunately, we don't have any oxygen tanks..."

Qi Ran's face twitched, and in the end, he could only grit his teeth and say "thank you" again.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and go into the water.

Everyone watched with bated breath, not daring to even breathe loudly.

But to his surprise, the water level was only just above Qi Ran's knees when he suddenly jumped up, howling, "Something bit me!"

People around him wanted to see the wound on his leg, but he covered it tightly with his hands.

The hope that had just risen in everyone's hearts was shattered in an instant, and their emotions gradually sank into despair.

Just then, Jiang Fan stepped out of the crowd, his voice calm yet powerful: "I can try to find the key in the dormitory manager's room, but there's a condition."